The AfterMath Beyond the Classroom

My name is Elizabeth McKinney, CEO & Founder of AfterMath Aftercare Corporation. I began AfterMath from a very real place in my life — from my own experience as a mother.

As a mother of three, I understood the pressure of trying to work, take care of your family, and still make sure your children have everything they needed to succeed. I remember feeling guilty all the time, like there were never enough hours in the day. My life felt like a constant cycle… work, school, home, homework, dinner, baths, then preparing for the next day just to wake up and do it all over again.

At the time, I worked at a school as a secretary, and my children went to work with me every day. After school, they would sit in the office with me until I got off work because I did not have another option. I knew I was not the only parent living like that. Every day I saw families struggling with the same thing — trying to balance work and parenting, while worrying about where their children would go after school.

Afterschool programs existed, but many were limited on space, and most only provided supervision. I saw children sitting around with no structure, no academic help, and no one really pouring into them. Homework was not getting done, parents were stressed when they got home, and children were falling behind without anyone meaning for that to happen.

I always believed that the hours after school are just as important as the hours during school. Those are the hours where habits are built, confidence grows, and children begin to see what they are capable of. I wanted to create a program where children felt safe, where parents could feel peace of mind, and where learning did not stop when the school bell rang. I wanted parents to be able to come home and spend quality time with their children, without the nightly struggle of homework battles and exhaustion.

Starting AfterMath was not easy. In 2018, I started with 30 students in the library at the school where I worked. I asked teachers to stay and help students with homework and assignments, and if they didn’t have homework, we worked on grade-level skills so they would stay prepared. There were many times doors did not open right away. There were moments I questioned if I was doing the right thing, and times I had to keep going on faith alone. But I kept pushing, because I knew this was bigger than me.

Before the pandemic, we had grown to 60 students. During the pandemic, when parents still had to work but children were learning virtually, I opened a storefront location so students would have a safe place to come during the day. I had elementary and middle school students all learning virtually at my site, and we made sure they stayed on track when so much of the world felt uncertain.

When schools fully reopened, we went back into the building and quickly grew to over 120 students enrolled. What started as something small kept growing because families needed it. Children needed it. Schools needed it.

In 2023, I was asked by a local charter school to take on three of their sites. That was the moment I knew I had to make a decision. After working more than 22 years at my job, I stepped out on faith and resigned to focus completely on something I truly believed in. Something that started with my own children had now turned into something that was helping hundreds of families.

Today, AfterMath Aftercare Corporation has 8 locations and serves more than 400 students. At one of our sites, we even partner with the YMCA to provide academic support for their students. What makes it even more special to me is that two of my children have graduated college and now work alongside me, and my other child serves the community as a firefighter in Dickson County. What started with my family is now helping so many other families.

AfterMath Aftercare Corporation was built with heart, with prayer, and with the belief that every child deserves a safe place to go, someone who truly cares about them, and a program that helps them become better every day.

It was built to give parents peace of mind.

It was built to give children support.

It was built so families can spend less time stressed, and more time together.

 Our goal is to help more schools, more families, and more communities experience the same support and peace of mind that AfterMath was built on.

And that is still the reason I do this work today.